After Henry returned from Vietnam, he was a completely different person. In order to truly understand the problems Henry portrayed, one must first understand the Vietnam war and the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Vietnam war was one of the most brutal wars that the United States has ever participated in. Over three million people died over the span of the war and many more sustained life threatening injuries. After the war started, the Northern Vietnam army, the Viet Cong, adopted a strategy called guerrilla warfare. This strategy involved a variety of small hit and run attacks, ambushes and traps. This made it extremely hard for the American army to make any progress without taking significant casualties. Due to this, the
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“PTSD, or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, or serious accidents” (Lentz). After the Vietnam war, nearly thirty percent of veterans developed PTSD. Veterans with the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder consistently display three symptoms; reliving the moment, numbness to pain, and jumpiness. Henry displays two of these in “The Red Convertible.” After the war, Henry constantly suppressed his emotions and had a numbness to everything around him. He wasn’t near as happy, friendly or nice after he returned. One example of this is when Henry bit his lip and didn’t even notice, but instead just kept eating his blood-filled bread. Henry was also extremely jumpy, easily irritated, and quick to anger. One instance of this happened while Henry was watching a show with a deathly gaze on his face. When Lyman reached for the remote to the TV, Henry jumped up aggressively and scolded Lyman. Given Henry’s change after returning from the war and his evident symptoms of PTSD, it is extremely likely that he developed the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In conclusion, to truly understand the problems Henry portrayed, one must first understand the Vietnam war and the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Henry was exposed to damaging herbicides like Agent Orange, experienced devastating war experiences, and showed two key symptoms of PTSD. It is no wonder that Henry came back from the war a different
“PTSD, or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a life-threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, or serious accidents” (Lentz). After the Vietnam war, nearly thirty percent of veterans developed PTSD. Veterans with the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder consistently display three symptoms; reliving the moment, numbness to pain, and jumpiness. Henry displays two of these in “The Red Convertible.” After the war, Henry constantly suppressed his emotions and had a numbness to everything around him. He wasn’t near as happy, friendly or nice after he returned. One example of this is when Henry bit his lip and didn’t even notice, but instead just kept eating his blood-filled bread. Henry was also extremely jumpy, easily irritated, and quick to anger. One instance of this happened while Henry was watching a show with a deathly gaze on his face. When Lyman reached for the remote to the TV, Henry jumped up aggressively and scolded Lyman. Given Henry’s change after returning from the war and his evident symptoms of PTSD, it is extremely likely that he developed the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In conclusion, to truly understand the problems Henry portrayed, one must first understand the Vietnam war and the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Henry was exposed to damaging herbicides like Agent Orange, experienced devastating war experiences, and showed two key symptoms of PTSD. It is no wonder that Henry came back from the war a different